Running Wild Horses, Onaqui Range, Utah: Print / Canvas / Acrylic / Metal / Wall Decor / Landscape Photograph

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What is it about wild horses, that brings out the child-like wonder in all horse lovers?

There is something magical and admirable about their ability to survive harsh winters, blistering summers, the droughts and the floods… not to overlook the human intervention of the ‘gatherings/roundups’. We do it under the guise of preservation of range land and herd health. But they do not understand that. Imagine how terrifying that is to them. And yet, most make it through and go on.

But I don’t know how long the wild herds will be protected or how long they will survive the weight of human intrusion. I had been determined for years to photograph them; hoping they would still exist by the time I could afford the trip. When that time finally came and I decided to photograph the Onaqui wild horses in Utah, I knew I needed more than just my camera gear and a full tank of gas.

The Onaqui Horse Management Area (HMA) covers over 270 thousand acres. So after a good deal of research, I found a guide (a longtime time resident, lover of the horses, and accomplished photographer). She picked me up at my hotel at 6:30am and we set off on an adventure of a lifetime. Looking for wild horses from sunrise to sunset in the dusty high desert of Utah – how cool is that!

Our road wound its way through the hills in the dark for about an hour and in the first light of morning we dropped down into a mostly flat plateau; the vastness of the landscape hit me immediately. The horizon and distant hills never seemed to get any closer, there were no signs of human impact, and the only sound was the crunch of gravel under the tires.

When we found our first herd. They were grazing in the morning light; the different families within the herd all pretty much content to co-exist and function peacefully together. For the moment. We got out of our vehicle and walked through the thigh-high sage brush to get a closer view - but always kept a respectful distance of about 100 yards or more. It was a large herd of over 200 horses. What a beautiful sight! All colors, and appearing to be in good health. A photographer's dream, and I did not waste a moment!

It wasn’t long before they began to move to their watering hole a few miles away. The dominant and experienced mare of each band would lead the way; the other mares would follow, with the band stallion bringing up the rear and keeping an eye on his 'girls'. The entire herd would make this trek together - roughly 18 to 20 family bands, a couple of bachelor groups, and a few lone stallions on the outskirts. This image is from their daily walk to water that day.

A few of the bachelor stallions got a little frisky and began to taunt one another into 'play fighting'. Dust flew, heals kicked up, teeth were bared, and necks arched perfecting their most threatening poses. What a sight! Occasionally it got a little rough and I’m sure some there was some skin lost in more than a few of the scuffles. Boys will be boys. The mares… they paid no attention, obviously they had seen it all before and they had their band stallion to keep anything from getting out of line.

Occasionally one of the mature stallions would get the notion of adding to his band (i.e. steal a mare or two) and that would bring about a fight of a more fierce nature. A sight to behold indeed! Yes, a little violent, but that is their way of sorting out disagreements, and eventually replacing the aging stallions with the stronger healthier ones. This image is from one of those disagreements. You can see this magnificent grey stallion moving his mares quickly to a safer distance. He soon returned to 'sort it out' with the intruder - another picture for another time.

After lunch, we looked for, and found, another herd to the South. We followed their grazing movement throughout the afternoon; photographing their wanderings and ‘discussions’ for hours.

As the sun slid lower in the sky, they decided to move towards water and my excellent guide knew exactly where they were headed. We jumped into her truck and rushed to the watering hole to get there ahead of the horses (still giving them a very wide berth) to watch them come to water. As the sun began to set, the colors of the desert shifted from gold to deep orange and purple. The herd came in at a strong trot right to the water’s edge and most went right in up to their knees and bellies. After thoroughly enjoying a long drink, they slowly moved off and in the fading twilight disappeared into the nearby hills. The whole event was a stunning, humbling sight, and magical end to our day.

The day was done, I (and my gear) was covered in dust, I was exhausted, but I was happy! I had spent the entire day photographing some of the most incredible creatures I’d ever seen, watching their interactions, their fights, their peacefulness. It was raw, wild, and everything I’d hoped for.

As we bumped along the gravel road back to civilization, I found myself already planning my next visit.